Jeff Merkley on War & Peace

Democratic Jr Senator (OR)

Opposed Iraq war from the very beginning, against Party

When the candidates were asked where their stance differs from their own party’s, Merkley mentioned having opposed the Iraq war from the very beginning. When Smith challenged that assertion,
Merkley shot back. “You know about that speech, yet you choose to mislead the citizens of this state,” he said. “We are mired in war. We are mired in debt.”

Signed onto “A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq”

Jeff was the first US Senate candidate to sign onto “A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq”. The strategy to end the war and bring our sons and daughters home was authored by several distinguished military experts. Jeff has laid out a 5-point path fo
stability in the region that will redeploy American combat troops and engage the Iraqis in rebuilding their country.To secure the peace, Americans can’t be seen as an occupying force, so removing them from patrols and checkpoints should be job one.
Iraqis must feel they have a stake in their own future to move forward. Jeff’s 5-point path includes:

Remove all combat troops starting right away and completing the redeployment in 6 to 12 months;

Eliminate permanent US military bases in Iraq;

Engage Iraq’s neighbors in a diplomatic effort to secure the peace;

Remove all American contractors from the country and replace them with Iraqi contractors;

Opposed the war from the start

Merkley opposed Bush’s Iraq policy from the beginning. He called for bold diplomatic efforts before pursuing military strategy. Two days after the war began in 2003, Jeff Merkley gave a speech in the Oregon House calling for a critical of
Bush’s strategy: “Colleagues, I have not been and am not today persuaded that Iraq was a significant threat to the United States or that the war we fight today is the best strategy to fight terrorism or the wisest application of our superpower resources.

Redeploy American combat troops out of Iraq

Jeff has laid out a five-point path for stability in the region that will redeploy American combat troops and engage the Iraqis in rebuilding their country. In order to secure the peace, Jeff knows Americans can’t be seen as an occupying force, so
removing them from patrols and checkpoints should be job one. And Iraqis must feel they have a stake in their own future in order to move forward. Read more.

Iranian nuclear weapons: prevention instead of containment.

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the nuclear program of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Whereas, since at least the late 1980s, Iran has engaged in a sustained pattern of illicit and deceptive activities to acquire nuclear capability;

Whereas the UN Security Council has adopted multiple resolutions since 2006 demanding the full suspension of all uranium enrichment-related activities by Iran, particularly possible military dimensions;

Sponsored shutting down Iranian foreign reserves.

Congressional Summary:Prohibits US-based correspondent accounts or a payable-through accounts by a foreign financial institution that knowingly:

conducted or facilitated a significant transaction on behalf of the Central Bank of Iran, or another Iranian financial institution, or a person involved in the energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors of Iran

Authorizes sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Arguments for and against bill: (New York Times, May 8, 2013): Seeking to escalate pressure on Iran, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation that would deny the Iranian government access to its foreign exchange reserves, estimated to be worth as much as $100 billion. The legislation would be the first major new sanction confronting Iran since its inconclusive round of negotiations last month on its disputed nuclear program.

Sponsors of the legislation contend that Iran is not bargaining in good
faith while it continues to enrich uranium. Part of the reason, they say, is that Iran has been able to work around the worst effects of the sanctions by tapping its foreign currency reserves overseas, which are largely beyond the reach of current restrictions. "Closing the foreign currency loophole in our sanctions policy is critical in our efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability," the sponsors said.

Critics said the new legislation risked further alienating Iranians who suspect that the sanctions' true purpose is not to pressure Iran in the nuclear negotiations, but to cause an economic implosion that would lead to regime change. "When we've cemented a sanctions escalation path, we're creating a trajectory toward actual confrontation," said the founder of the National Iranian American Council, a Washington group that opposes sanctions. Some Iranian leaders, he said, see the sanctions "as a train that can only go in one direction and has no brakes."